Glenn Beck's star has been fading for most of the last year. He has lost about half of his television audience. His radio ratings have also been declining leading to stations dropping his program in big markets like New York, Philadelphia, and Madison. His most recent book, "Broke," was the first in eight years to fail to hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Over 300 advertisers regard him as toxic and will not permit their ads to air during his program.
And then there's this.....
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Yesterday, another milestone was reached. The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC drew 39,000 more viewers in the key advertising demographic of 25-54 year olds. Beck did manage to draw more total viewers, but even that statistic is revealing. It shows that Beck's audience is comprised of only 21% of the young demo. That compares to Maddow's 31%.
This is further evidence of Beck's accelerating collapse. Last week it was reported that Beck declined 32% (25-54) and 26% (total viewers) year-to-year for the month of February. And that's on top of a January year-to-year drop of 50% (25-54) and 40% (total viewers).
The public is obviously tiring of this manic-paranoid's freak show. As a result, many staunch conservatives are becoming bolder with regard to their criticisms of Beck. And some are even recognizing that Beck may be just the tip of the iceberg and that anyone who hitches their wagon to Beck is equally deserving of ridicule and revulsion. That applies particularly to Beck's primary benefactors, Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch, but also to those who work with and/or defend Beck. They will all learn that this stench is unremitting.
As for Maddow, this is just one day, so it will take some time to see if her strength continues. Pessimists will whine that Maddow's primetime scheduling gives her an advantage, but the fact is that this is the first time she has outdrawn Beck and that makes it significant. For now she deserves to celebrate and I congratulate her.
